Daniel Trejo is The Fresno Bee Boys Soccer Player of the Year

Mendota High's Daniel Trejo was named The Fresno Bee's Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Trejo set California's career scoring record with 200 goals and his 65 goals this past season established a Central Section single-season record. -Bryant-Jon An

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Mendota High's Daniel Trejo was named The Fresno Bee's Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Trejo set California's career scoring record with 200 goals and his 65 goals this past season established a Central Section single-season record. -Bryant-Jon An

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He’s qualified because: Trejo scored a Central Section single-season record 65 goals, according to historian Bob Barnett, while leading Mendota to a 23-5-2 overall mark that included a West Sierra League title, a second straight Division VI championship and a trip to the CIF Southern California Regional semifinals. The WSL’s Most Valuable Player also contributed 11 assists. Trejo’s 65 goals, which broke the previous section single-season record of 56 set by his older brother Javier in 2009-2010, and 141 points were the most produced by any player in the nation whose stats were kept on maxpreps.com.

Unparalleled career: Trejo became California’s most prolific career goal scorer in his four varsity seasons, finishing with 200. Entering the section’s playoffs, where Mendota received a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in D-VI, Trejo was six goals behind the state record of 192 set by Diamond Bar’s Craig Turley between 1984-87. Averaging 2.1 per game, Trejo went out and scored seven goals in a 7-0 quarterfinal win over Minarets. “I had a plan. This was one of the games where I knew I would have the chance to score,” Trejo said. “I got together with my team and let them know we had to make history, and we did. I’m glad.” Mendota went 81-22-8 with four WSL titles and three trips to the D-VI final during Trejo’s career. He broke onto the section scene with 47 goals and 16 assists as a freshman to help the Aztecs go 22-4-2 and reach the D-VI final. Trejo added 39 goals and 10 assists for a 17-6-2 Mendota as a sophomore, then 49 goals and 17 goals as a junior while leading the Aztecs to a 19-7-2 record and the first of two straight D-VI titles. Trejo passed the section’s career scoring record of 122, set by Porterville’s Rudy Rodriguez (1982-1984), during his junior season, according to Barnett.

Gifted athlete: As Trejo smashed section and state records on the pitch, he also was a member of Mendota’s varsity basketball team, often taking the court within minutes of a soccer game’s finish. Aztecs basketball coach Mario Plascencia said his part-time point guard would be a City/County All-Star-caliber player if he focused on the sport. And Mendota football coach Beto Mejia, after witnessing Trejo perform during a summer of passing league tournaments, said the 5-foot-9, 165-pound speeder would have been an impact running back on the level with former Aztecs’ record-setter Edgar Segura had he stuck with that game.

The next step: For most of his career, Trejo flew under the national radar while playing in the tiny west-side farming community. But his record-breaking senior season helped draw recruiting interest, and scholarship offers, from UCLA, Fullerton, Northridge, Sacramento State and Fresno Pacific. Trejo has yet to make a commitment.

He said it: “He’s good at making adjustments to his game. If you try to stop him, he’ll find a way to beat it. It’s hard to stop him. No matter what you throw at him, he’ll adjust and beat it. That’s what makes him special. It pushes him to be even better. A lot of these kids, you rough them up or double-team them and you take them out of the game. But with Trejo, it’s rare for someone to take him off his game.” – Mendota coach Juan Magana

The last word: “I always wanted to be in the record books and I wanted to put Mendota on the map. It’s a great feeling. That was one of my main goals at the beginning of the season, and I gave it all that I’ve got. I never cheat the game, so I was able to get what I wanted.” – Trejo

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OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE PERFORMER

BRAEDON ROUFF

School: Clovis

Grade: Senior

Position: Forward

He’s qualified because: After splitting time between forward and defender as a junior, Rouff blossomed into one of the Central Section’s leading scorers as a senior, finishing with 27 goals and 10 assists for the co-Tri-River Athletic Conference and Division I champion Cougars. Rouff, named TRAC Offensive Player of the Year, contributed a goal and two assists as top-seeded Clovis beat No. 6 Clovis North 3-1 in the D-I final. He also scored twice in a 5-4 overtime victory over No. 8 Central in the quarterfinals. Clovis earned a berth in the CIF Southern California Regionals for the first time and finished 24-4.

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OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PERFORMER

HUGO MENDOZA

School: Clovis

Grade: Junior

Position: Center fullback

He’s qualified because: Mendoza was the defensive leader of the first Clovis team to capture the Central Section’s top boys soccer playoff division since 2005, often being tasked with guarding an opponent’s most dangerous scoring threat. Mendoza shut down Clovis North’s Fisayo Olukanni in the second half after he broke free for an early goal during Clovis’ 3-1 victory over the Broncos in the D-I final. The Tri-River Athletic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year helped Clovis post eight shutouts while also contributing eight goals and five assists. Mendoza is a three-year starter and two-time All-Bee honoree who is drawing college interest from UC Davis, UC Merced, Chico State and Fresno Pacific.

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Small-schools player of the year

MARCOS CEBALLOS

School: Lindsay

Grade: Junior

Position: Center midfielder

He’s qualified because: Set a school-record with 37 goals, third-most in the Central Section among stats kept on maxpreps.com, to go with 17 assists while helping lead Lindsay to East Sequoia League and Central Section Division IV championships and a berth in the CIF Southern California Regional. Scored in the fourth-seeded Cardinals’ 3-1 win over No. 2 Arvin in the section D-IV final, was named MVP of the ESL and has produced 49 goals and 27 assists in three varsity seasons.

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Coach of the year

JOHN MCCAW

School: Golden West

He’s qualified because: In his 16th year at Golden West and 23rd overall as a head coach, McCaw led the top-seeded Trailblazers to the school’s first Central Section boys soccer title. Golden West rallied from a 2-0 halftime deficit to beat No. 9 East Bakersfield 3-2 in the quarterfinals, topped No. 4 El Diamante on penalty kicks in the semifinals after tying 1-1 through regulation and two overtime periods, then came back from another 2-0 halftime deficit to defeat No. 2 Edison 3-2 in the Division II final on John Hernandez’s overtime goal. The Trailblazers, who won their fifth West Yosemite League title in the past seven years, finished 19-4 after their first trip to the CIF Southern California Regional.